Bonus-wag: Ted (Chiang) Talks

Paul Giamatti’s CHINWAG with Stephen Asma

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Paul, Stephen and fiction writer Ted Chiang discuss the pros and cons of our fallible memories and the human technological interface.

Is that fight with your partner about “who said what” an essential part of developing a human relationship, or is none of that even the point? Is adopting a pact of truth and reconciliation the path forward in relationships as it is in some countries’ politics? Ted discusses the question of self-identity; are we defined by our memories and shared experiences, and how is the “self” affected by changing technology? Does Chiang believe in an immaterial soul or are we only a collection of atoms? And why do many believe materialism implies nihilism when we can make meaning with our own guiding morals?

All this and more on existentialist thought, karma, AI, and moral philosophy! What else could you want? Dig in Waggers!

Paul Giamatti is an award-winning actor and producer. Stephen Asma is a professor and author specializing in the philosophy of science, religion, and art.

Ted Chiang is a fiction writer whose works have won him four Hugo, four Nebula, and four Locus awards. He has been featured in The Best American Short Stories and has authored two collections, Exhalation and Stories of Your Life and Others. The title story from Stories was adapted into the feature film Arrival. Chiang is also a frequent non-fiction contributor to the New Yorker Magazine, most recently on topics related to computer technology, and artificial intelligence.

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